scholarly journals External Imbalances and the US Current Account: How Supply-Side Changes Affect an Exchange Rate Adjustment

2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 927-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Engler ◽  
Michael Fidora ◽  
Christian Thimann
Author(s):  
Patrik Abrahámek

The purpose of this paper is to determine a potential overvaluation and undervaluation of currencies of selected eurozone countries and of the Visegrád Four. The DARER (Debt-Adjusted Real Exchange Rate) model was used for an empirical analysis of the period between 2010–2014 in individual quarters. The advantage of this model is that it explicitly takes into consideration the development of the current account and the debt of the country in connection with the theory of purchasing power parity. The DARER model appears to be a suitable tool for the empirical analysis because, currently, there are many countries in the eurozone with a high debt. In the analysis, data on the current account, debt service payments, GDP, HICP USA and individual researched countries, the exchange rates EUR/USD and CZK/USD, PLN/USD, HUF/USD were used. According to the average overvaluation and undervaluation of currency in all observed states in the Eurozone, in total the overvaluation of the euro against the US dollar was 19.3 %. The overvaluation in individual countries varied from 6.3 % to 33.38 %. These differences in the overvaluation of states’ currency against the US dollar were caused mainly by different development of the balance of payments of the country and the country’s debt. This can indicate various levels of external imbalances among the states within the monetary union. According to the result of this research, the DARER model was able to identify varying overvaluation and undervaluation of currencies in individual eurozone states and the Visegrád Group, so it can be used by policy makers as one of the indicators of these external imbalances of individual countries in the monetary union.


2007 ◽  
Vol 199 ◽  
pp. 34-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Barrell ◽  
Ian Hurst

The US current account imbalance has stayed stubbornly high despite the fall in the dollar that we have seen since the beginning of 2003. The exchange rate has fallen by around 15 per cent on average, mainly between the first quarter of 2003 and the first quarter of 2005. As we can see from figure 1, the fall has come in three steps, and each time it fell we might have expected an initial worsening of the current account for a year or so as prices change in advance of quantities (the J curve effect of the first year textbook). Hence we might have expected no sustained improvement until at least a year after the last downward step towards the end of 2004. However, as we can see from figure 2, there is no noticeable improvement in the current account during 2006, suggesting that domestic absorption was rising. At the same time inflation in the US was gradually drifting up under pressure from the weakening exchange rate.


2011 ◽  
pp. 457-462
Author(s):  
Matias Vernengo ◽  
Mathew Bradbury

The paper draws lessons from the failed Argentine experience with convertibility to highlight the dangers of dollarization in Ecuador. Argentina’s currency peg to the US dollar was successful in reducing inflation but given the overvalued real exchange rate, created burgeoning twin deficits and a chronic dependency on foreign capital. Ecuador too suffers from chronic current account imbalance. In contrast to Argentina, Ecuador seems to be relying on remittance income to close its external financing gap. Though perhaps this model is less unstable than that of relying on foreign capital it is no more sustainable. The paper closes with a realistic critique of thisdevelopment strategy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1717-1741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaise Gnimassoun ◽  
Valérie Mignon

This paper investigates the interactions between three key macroeconomic imbalances, namely current-account discrepancies (external imbalances), output gaps (internal imbalances), and exchange-rate misalignments. We estimate a panel VAR model for a sample of 22 industrialized countries over the period 1980–2011. Our findings show that macroeconomic imbalances strongly interact through a causal relationship. If current-account disequilibria threaten the stability of the global economy, their origin can be found in internal imbalances and exchange-rate misalignments: positive output-gap shocks as well as currency overvaluation deepen current-account deficits. In addition, although variations in external imbalances mainly result from exchange-rate misalignments in the euro area, they are mostly explained by output gaps for non-eurozone members.


2010 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
pp. F15-F17

While the financial crisis of 2008 caused deep recession in most of the world's developed economies, many of the largest emerging markets weathered the financial storm comparatively well. China remains a vital source of global demand, while India is also gaining an increasing weight in the global economy. China has differed from India and Brazil in that this growth has been associated with a significant current account surplus, and this has been a major issue, particularly in discussion with the US. The Russian current account surplus has been associated with its role as an oil producer. In this section we first compare economic performance prior to and during the financial turmoil among the so-called BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) which constitute the world's largest emerging markets. We then discuss the Chinese current account surplus and policies that might be adopted to reduce it. These involve the expansion of demand in China, along with an appreciation of the exchange rate. However, there is no real long-term improvement of global imbalances if China just repegs the exchange rate at a higher level.


2005 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 31-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Al-Eyd ◽  
Ray Barrell ◽  
Olga Pomerantz

In the past three years the US dollar has been declining whilst the US current account deficit has expanded, and these two developments are clearly linked. However, the causes of the decline in the dollar and the solution to the US deficit may not be as closely related as at first may appear. The emergence of a sustained deficit does not automatically necessitate a fall in the exchange rate, and a fall in the exchange rate may not correct such a deficit. Deficits can exist if the currency moves above its sustainable real exchange rate, and a real depreciation can remove such a deficit. Deficits caused by exchange rate movements are likely to be more temporary than those that either emerge for long-term structural reasons or result from structural imbalances in the economy. A structural deficit can be the consequence of low domestic saving or high domestic government borrowing. If domestic investment is very profitable then even high levels of domestic saving may still result in a savings shortfall, and the high returns may induce a structural capital inflow which will produce a sustainable current account deficit as a consequence. All these factors have influenced the increase in the US deficit in the past decade, and it is difficult to see how a correction to the deficit can occur without one of the domestic drivers changing in some way. Here we present a set of simulations using NiGEM to examine the impacts of alternative adjustment scenarios and their global implications. Before adding to the debate about the possible remedies, we will attempt to establish the sources of the current conjuncture, as the alternative adjustment paths for deficits and for the dollar depend on the sources of misalignment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-237
Author(s):  
Dewi Purnama ◽  
Budiono Budiono ◽  
Anhar Fauzan Priyono

Abstract: The phenomenon of global current account imbalance has made researchers and policy makers provide more attention on current account issues. This phenomenon is illustrated by the US' current account deficit which continues to increase, while ASEAN+6 reaps a surplus. This study aims to study the factors that affect the aggregate current account in ASEAN+6 that have not been explained by previous studies. Based on the dynamic panel model (GMM) used, it was found that the variables Lagged-current account, ToT, Exchange Rate Stability, and Household Consumption have a significant effect on the aggregate current account in ASEAN+6. On the other hand, the REER and Government Expenditures do not have a significant effect on the ASEAN+6 current account. The benefit of this research is that it can be used for the formulation of current account policies to minimize the government's efforts to overcome a bigger issue: imbalance in balance of payment.Keywords: Current account balance, Generalized Method of Moment, ASEAN+6 Determinan Neraca Transaksi Berjalan di ASEAN+6Abstrak: Fenomena ketidakseimbangan transaksi berjalan global telah membuat para peneliti dan pembuat kebijakan memberikan perhatian lebih pada masalah transaksi berjalan. Fenomena ini tergambar dari defisit transaksi berjalan AS yang terus meningkat, sedangkan ASEAN+6 menuai surplus. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mempelajari faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi neraca transaksi berjalan agregat di ASEAN+6 yang belum dijelaskan oleh penelitian-penelitian sebelumnya. Berdasarkan model panel dinamis (GMM) yang digunakan, ditemukan bahwa variabel Lagged-current account, ToT, Exchange Rate Stability, dan Household Consumption berpengaruh signifikan terhadap agregat current account di ASEAN+6. Di sisi lain, REER dan Belanja Pemerintah tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap transaksi berjalan ASEAN+6. Manfaat dari penelitian ini adalah dapat digunakan untuk perumusan kebijakan transaksi berjalan untuk meminimalkan upaya pemerintah mengatasi masalah yang lebih besar: ketidakseimbangan neraca pembayaran.Kata kunci: Neraca transaksi berjalan, Generalized Method of Moment, ASEAN+6


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